Time for fox pelts to make fashion return
Mandurah Coastal Times, Page: 103. Wednesday, 29 April, 2009
Jack Pitsikas trapped foxes in the 1940s and now wants to see their pelts used as a fashion accessory again.
The Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia (SSAA) is promoting the use of the declared pest’s fur as an environmentally friendly alternative to current fur and synthetic products.
Mr Pitsikas, who turns 90 this week said between 1942 and 1946, when he was the station master at Yellowdine, he would catch up to 10 foxes every week.
“The Yilgarn Roads Board would give us four shillings for a fox’s scalp and tail and if they were commercially viable, the pelts would be stamped and given back to us,” Mr Pitsikas said. He has kept many of the better winter pelts and sent them to furriers in Perth to turn into boas and jackets for his mother and sisters.
The 90-year-old said he would like to see fox fur become a useful fashion item again.
“It would encourage shooters and farmers to trap them,” he said.
“A big demand for fox pelts would encourage their destruction.” Mr Pitsikas said foxes were plentiful throughout WA because they were able to have up to five cubs in a litter.
He blames foxes for the decimation of woylie and quokka populations in the Southwest.
Fox shooter Clem Winton is also a supporter of fox pelts becoming fashion accessories again.
“I see no reason why fur from foxes I shoot couldn’t be dried out, tanned and made into handbags, gloves or fur coats,” he said.
The 75-year-old has been shooting foxes, rabbits and feral cats for more than 45 years, and is proud of the role he has played in keeping their numbers down throughout Bindoon, Kondinin, Wannamal and Moora.
Despite such efforts, he said, fox numbers were increasing and the damage they caused to both livestock and native animals was of concern.
Home > Media monitoring > 2009 > Time for fox pelts to make fashion return